Sovereign University of Vedessa
The Sovereign University of Vedessa (informally known as the Sovrazia)is a diplomatically sovereign entity based on the small western coast of the Eradine principality of Meragna, governing the town of Vedessa in trust for the Republic of Sentar. The physical territory the university governs is termed the Scholarly State of Vedessa and forms part of the Sentarion Commonwealth, however the university itself is considered fully independent. The Sovereign University is collegiate, composed of five separate colleges located on different campuses throughout the town of Vedessa. The university is widely regarded as the most prestigious in the world, and broadly attended by international Ortusian nobility. The Rector of the university is the ex officio head of the Scholarly State, elected by joint congress of the University Senate (composed of tenured academic staff as well as those holding doctoral or masters degrees who are nominated by a tenured professor for office) and the five College Executives (consisting of fellows, non-tenured academic staff, a limited number of students elected by their peers, and the seven college Provosts) serving until voluntary retirement. A joint diet of the five college executives forms the Scholarly State's lower house of government, the Grand Council, selecting one among the five provosts as Lord Provost who serves as head of government for a seven-year term. The University Senate is the state's upper house of legislature. The university's graduates and tenured staff are given automatic citizenship of the Scholarly State, and non-tenured staff, students, and non-academic staff are given temporary citizenship for the duration of their employment or study with the university. All other residents of the state, most notably much of the population of the town of Vedessa in which the five colleges are located and over which the Scholarly State has sovereignty, are considered Honoured Servants of the state but not full citizens. The [[Sentar|'Sentarion Commonwealth']] provides automatic citizenship to any Honoured Servants or ex-citizens of Vedessa if they have no other citizenship. The official language of the state is Scholarly Merem, but Meragnese and Merrois are also accepted media of education. Classical Insian also sees widespread academic usage. The state is a full member of the Council of Sentar and has diplomatic relations with thirty sovereign states, including diplomatic representation in Eradina, Sentar, and Insios. Despite its tiny size, the state maintains a ceremonial army garrison, the Scholastic Guard, members of which may achieve citizenship equivalent to that of university graduates after four years of service to the state. The Scholastic Guard doubles as the state's police force. Defence of the state is the legal responsibility of the Sentarion Commonwealth. The five colleges are named as follows: * Vecchiro College of Literature * Mernice College of Fine Art * Calastero College of Natural Philosophy * Most High Principal College of Manadiso (Theology) * Lapistro College of Mathematics History The university long predates the state; established by Emperor Mithranus II of the Merem Empire, the university was intended to rival the Academy of Elium in Insios and was sited a considerable distance from the capital at Merem as the emperor valued physical prowess equally to academic achievement, and so desired for the university to be isolated such that students could freely hike through countryside. Leading philosophers of the time also maintained that the beauty and aesthetics of the countryside were of benefit to the learning mind. The university grew, and came to be the educational institution of choice of the empire's ruling elite. Emperor Mithranus III, who had attended the university, granted it status in his senate equal to that of a province in a ceremony marking its hundredth anniversary. When the empire fell and provinces became kingdoms, the university remained a stronghold of loyalism to the fallen empire, and came to host a large number of former imperial troops who viewed it as the rump of the empire. With these troops the university resisted incorporation into any of the kingdoms that grew in the empire's place, until it opted to become a protectorate of the city-state of Siarana, paying tribute in return for defence and recognition of legal sovereignty. When Siarana was federated as one of the Meragnese League, the Meragnese government continued to fulfill the treaties signed between the university and Siarana, taking over Siarana's role. When Meragna was conquered by Weigeld-Lovas, the King-Emperor of Weigeld-Lovas was convinced by his wife - who had studied at the Sovrazia - not to also conquer the university. Instead Weigeld-Lovas inherited the same treaties Meragna had inherited from Siarana, and indeed when Weigeld-Lovas fell and Sentar rose from its ashes, the millenia-old treaties were again honoured.